This time last year, David Brown was getting ready to play his final high-school football season with St. Mary’s. Fast forward to now and Brown is still playing football — this time for Bentley University. After a long preseason that was filled with meetings, practices, and weight-room sessions, Brown is making it his mission to crack the rotation and help the Falcons win football games this fall.
“You learn so much here that you won’t learn in high school,” Brown said. “There is a lot of detail about technique and there is so much more to the game that you don’t realize until you play at this level.”
Brown, who helped lead the Spartans to a state championship last year, talked about the long preseason at Bentley.
“We got here on Aug. 4 and the first week went by really slow. We had meetings at 7 a.m., then we had practice before we lift,” Brown said. “Then they give you a three-hour break before we go and lift again and have another meeting. I’m in bed by 10.”
One noticeable difference Brown realized between high school and college is the amount of film he has to watch.
“In high school we watch film as a team like once a week and during the regular season we’d watch film the day after the game,” Brown said. “In college, you watch film like twice a day with the team.”
Another difference is the focus and energy he has to exert on each play.
“The attention to detail is a big difference. In high school, you can get away with not going full speed at times, but in college, if you don’t go 100% every play, it’ll change the whole game,” Brown said.
In his St. Mary’s career, Brown ran for 2,842 yards, scored 62 touchdowns, and raked in more than 4,000 all-purpose yards. However, the explosive talent is playing on the other side of the ball for the Falcons.
“Right now I’m playing strong safety,” Brown said. “I have to learn a lot more calls, defensive formations, recognizing pre-snap reads, amongst other things. It’s really different compared to high school.”
While he is not a starter right now, Brown mentioned he wants to get in the main rotation during the season.
“My main goal is to get into the rotation throughout the year,” Brown said. “Becoming the one or two in my position and getting out there playing.”
Unlike in high school when he was one of the main players on both sides of the ball, Brown said he now has to work to crack the rotation, but he’s determined to do so.
“You go from being one of the best players on your team and in the area to college, where all of your teammates were the best on their team,” Brown said. “The first couple of practices I had to look at it from a different perspective. Since we have a lot of practices, you have opportunities to move up the depth chart.”
When asked what he hopes to accomplish as a team this season, Brown mentioned winning the conference.
“The first team goal we have is to win the NE10,” Brown said. “A short-term goal is to win this weekend. We play New Haven and we haven’t beaten them in the last three years, but I think we have a really good chance to win.”
